1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus to form simulated bacon and other multi-component meat products. More particularly, the invention pertains to apparatus for forming multi-component meat products wherein a first component is pumped through a first manifold to a forming die having one or more partitions therein for extruding a second component into said first component at one or more points in the forming die, the second component being pumped through a second manifold to the forming die.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Simulated bacon products presently available include a sausage-type meat product formed in a slab and sliced in a shape similar to conventional bacon. Apparatus available to provide this form of sausage-type meat includes various grinders and mixing apparatus generally employed in the meat comminuting and grinding procedures. Bacon analogues formed from conventional mixing and comminuting equipment employed for the sausage-type meats suffer the disadvantage of providing bacon analogues that have the visual appearance of sausage rather than bacon no matter how closely the taste or texture of the simulated product approached natural pork bellies. Furthermore, other than bacon products which simulate the size and rectangular shape of a bacon slice, the simulated products of the prior art do not visually approach the texture and configuration of either bacon in the slab form or bacon in the sliced form.
The prior art includes apparatus to provide alternative layers of meat and fat in the form of a slab which then may be sliced such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,911,154 and 4,042,715. These prior art apparatus are useful in simulating layered meats but not such meats as bacon in which the components in the cooked and uncooked state do not have the appearance of layers. Visual appeal of bacon analogues produced by such apparatus is lacking because of the obvious layered appearance of the simulated product both in the slab and sliced form even though the flavor may approach that of bacon.
Apparatus for preparing a multi-component composite as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,324 is available for producing various multi-colored meat-like products but has the disadvantage of producing meat products that are difficult to reproduce and has a tendancy to result in a marbelized product.